Improvement in windmills



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

THOMAS O. FERRY, OF TECUMSEH, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN WINDMILLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,548, dated January 20, 1874; application filed June 23, 1873.

To `all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Trios. O. PERRY, of Tecu1nseh,in the county of Lenawee and State of Michigan,l have invented certain Improvements in Windmills, of which the following is -a specification:

lVly invention relates to that class of windmills which revolve horizontally on vertical shafts, and have wings which also revolve on vertical axes; it consists, rst, in the adaptation of a vane to regulating the wings,by causing them to revolve on their own vertical axes sory devices.

1n the drawing, Figure 1 is a general plan of the mill, omitting, for perspicuity, the vane 'u and that portion of the governor shown in Figs. 4 and 5 below the vane v and above the central toothed-wheel o. Fig. 2 is an elevation of Fig. l, projected in the direction A B, omit- `ting the parts obviously not shown nor indicated by the letters. Fig. 1, projected in the direction C D, show- Fig. 3 is an elevation of in g also the pipe Z and vane c in their true position, and omitting certain parts obviously not Fig. 4

a direction perpendicular to the face of the vane c; but the rods r r and piece c, also shown in Figs. l and 2, revolve with the mill, and may be in any position with reference to the vane.

i l Fig. 5 is a plan of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan of the piece e. Fig. 7 is a plan of the weight w. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a plan of the vane c. Fig. 10 is an elevation oi' the pulley p, showing the spiral part in position. Fig. l11 is a plan of the crank k', showing the oblong hole for the crank-pin to i i iWork in.; Fig. 12 is a plan of the piece l. Fig.

i 1.3 is a plan of the piece b.

If, in Fig. 1, disregarding the governor, the

` centraltoothed-wheel 0 be in any manner fixed to and held in position by the vane c, shown in Fig. 3, While the wind blows` from A to B,

of arms a a c.

the connection between the vane c and wings f f, made by means of the toothed-wheels o n n m m', cranks k k, ring c, small arms a a., braces b b, and cranks k k, on the` axes of the wings, will constitute the iirst partof my invention. Thus the motion of the cranks k k, on the wheels m m', is imparted to the cranks k 7c by means of the ring c, small arms a a, and braces b b. The wingshaving once been set in position with reference to the vane, as

shown in Fig. 1, by means of the nuts under the cranks 7c k, willlsuccessively assume, as the mill revolves, the positions shown, each wing making an angle of ninety degrees with the direction of the wind on arriving at D,

forty-ve degrees on arriving at A and B, and

zero on arriving at C, while in all intermediate positions also the wings receive the wind advantageously. The wings revolve on their own axes in a direction opposite to that of the mill, the mill making two revolutionsto one of the wing.

Though but four wings are represented in the drawing, the device-is equally applicable to any number, the application of more or less wings only making a difference in thenumber In all cases the wings are put in Working' order by turning the mill, and bringing each wing in succession to the position indicated by l), and there setting its `face perpendicular to the vane o, by means of the nuts onthe axes just under the cranks k k, which also screw on the ends of the axes. j The numberof wings used makesno modifications in the governors hereafter described. The wheels m and n may be omitted, being but duplicates of m and fn, and are added for, supporting one end of the ring c, Aandpartly relieving the strain on 'm` and n. The five toothed wheels o m u m( n mayall be placed in a straight line, but are placed as shown in the drawing for the purpose ofV putting themY all upon the piece d, to which the arms a a K the4 small arin a, and works in an oblong hole in the crank, shown in Fig. l1.

the line A B to receive the wind equally, and' the mill would stand still 5 or if the vane remain in position where the wind holds it, while the central toothed-wheel o is caused to make a quarterfrrevolution, the same effect is produced. lf the toothed wheel o makes less than p a quarter-revolution, with reference to the vane,

the wings are partially turned outV of their working position, so as to take the wind at less advantage, and the motion of 'the mill is checked. Hence the governor is a device for causing' thel central vtoothed wheel o to make a partial revolution with reference to the vane. This is effected either by centrifugal force or hy the direct force of the wind, as follows:

The small shaft s is either inserted into the largeshaft S or screwed into the Vpiece d.' The piece of gas-pipe l, Figs. 4L' and 8, is fixed to the central wheel 0, and both turn freely on the small shaft s. The piece i' is fixed to the pipe l. The drum h, piece L, and vane i: are fixed together, and' are loose on the pipe Z. The weight w is suspended by the chains q q, which pass over the pulleys t t, and fasten to the drinn h, on which they wind when the weight is raised. The pipe l passes freely through the weight, allowing the weight to rise without obstruction, as also do the pieces J J, w ich areriixed to the piece i, and prevent the weight'from turning and throwing` the chains out of a perpen dicular. As the weight rises, the chains q q pass over the pulleys t t, and wind on the drinn h, thus allowing the pieces i Zw and central wheel o, which turn together, to change posi. tion with reference to the vane, as required, for checking or stopping the mill.

For raising the weight w, two rods, r r, which slide freely up and down through holes in the pieces d el', are attached at their upper ends to the piece c, which revolves with the mill beneath the weight. To the rods r r, Fig. 2, is attached a piece, l', to which are attached chains y y, which pass over the pulleys p p and fasten to the ends of the horizontal rods r r', to the other ends of which, at the extremities of the arms a a, are fastened the governorballs g g. The centrifugal force of these loalls causes the rods r r to roll horizontally over the pulleys z z, thus lifting the piece l', rods r r, and piece e, which in turn lifts the weight w.Y Shoulders on the rods r i", coming in contact with the pieces u u, prevent the balls g g being thrown out farther than is necessary for stopping the mill. The piece c may be made to assist, also, in holding the weight fw down, by means of a flange at the lower end of the piece iv', Fig. 8, which loosely encircles the pipe l, passes freely through e, and screws into the Weight w. rThe piece i' is keptfrom aruing too far in either direction by the horizontal and vertical pins shown at x .1', Figs. 4 and 5. The pulleys t t should be shieldedV to prevent the chains from runnin g off, as also should the pulleys p p and z z. The weight of the vane and drinn h is supported hy the cap c',

Figs. 4, 5, and 8, which rests on the top of the shaft s, the object being to leave the piece z', and parts connected therewith, freetotnrn uniinpeded by the weight of the vane when the governor acts. To It', Fig. 4, a funnelshaped tin cover may be attached. so as to protect the toothed Wheels andotherv parts from the weather.

In order that the mill may run with an uniform velocity in winds of varying force, there must be, for a particular speed-of the mill, an exact 4balance between the weight'which is Vto he 'raised and the force which raisesV the weight,

for every position of the halls gg. Ifp p were ycommon pulleys this balance would not be esscrew on the'circular part, and the chain connected to the rod r winds around and fastens to the pin on the spiral part of p, so that, as the ball g increases its distance from the shaft of the mill, the chain unwiiids fromV the spiral part of the pulley, causing the increasing centrifugal force of the balls to be counterbal- Yanced by acting with a proportionately-de-V creasing leverage, so as to always balance the weight, which is a constant force acting with a constant leverage, since the 'chain y winds upon the circular part of p.

The required forni of the spiral must he computed or determined by experiment. In the drawing the spiral is exaggerated. By placing additional weights upon the piece l', Figs. 2 and 12, the weight to be raised will he increased, so as to require a greater speed of the mill in order to thror out the balls g g. Thus, by making the original weight sufficiently light, the speed of the mill may be controlled at will. The piece b, Figs. 2 and 13, to which the lower ends of the rods r o" are secured, affords a means of raising the weight and stop ping the mill at pleasure, by means of the lever B and rope j, operated from the ground. Any means of causing the central toothed Wheel 0 to revolve out of its working position, with reference to the vane t, will stop or check the motion of the mill. Therefore, instead of using the balls g g for this purpose, a small wing at the end of a short lever-aim, making an angle (say ninety degrees) with the vane and clamped on to the pipe l, may receive the wind, so as to turn the central wheel o and govern the mill. Thearm of this small wing may he attached tothe piece i, instead of the pipe, or to any other part inilexibly connected i with the central toothed wheel o. i In the drawing, Figs. 4 and 5, the pipe l extends loosely through .the drum h and vane c, and projects sufliciently above't-he vane for allowing the `short lever-arm s, Fig. 5, to be clamped on just'under the cap c. The small wing l is attached to the end of the arm s, so as to be blown around when the wind is suficiently strong to raise the Weight w; for the weight is raised by the turning of the piece i, which is flbzed to the pipe l. A very strong wind, would force the wing l and arm s into a position parallel, or vnearly so, with the vane, and

stop the mill until theforce of the wind should the Wings axes against their bearings, due to centrifugal force, as well as the action of the Wind upon the win gs, will cause the weight w to rise and check the speed of the mill, provided the weight is not made too heavy. Thus, it appears that the iiexible connection between the vane c and central toothed Wheel o, made by means ofthe weight w, 85e., as4 before described, constitutes in itself a governor which is sufficient to insure the inill against attaining an injurious speed.

The vertical shaft S, to which the mill is attached, may extend downward as fai' as is desirable, and may be made to drive machinery, by means of gearing or belting, in any manner knownto mechanics.

" I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with the vane c and wings f f, oi the toothed wheels o 'n 'n' m m', ring c, crank 7c k k' k, andsmall arms a a, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, with the vane v and central toothed wheel o,-of the weight fw, `pipe l, chains q q, pulleys t t, pieces i and J J, and drum h., substantially as and for the purpose set forth. e

3. rlhe piece e, in combination with therods r r, pieces b and l', for lifting `the weight w, as described. j

4. The governor-balls g g, in combination with the rods r r', chains y y, pulleys p p, piece l, rods r r, and piecer e, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. i

THOMAS osBonN PERRY.`

Witnesses i GIDEoN D. PERRY, J osEPH R. KEENY. 

